What is a Teflon® Duct or Hose?

Teflon® hose offers superior chemical resistance and high temperature qualities, making it ideal for the harshest conditions.  A Teflon duct generally consists of two parts.  The first part is the base of the hose, which is typically a fabric type material such as fiberglass.  The Teflon is then coated onto the hose, sealing the fabric and creating the highly chemical resistant lining for the hose.  Typically wire reinforcement is used as the “backbone” of the hose, which also reduces kinking when the hose is flexed.  Therefore a Teflon flexible duct hose behaves like a coated fabric hose while offering excellent chemical resistance. The wire reinforcement of Teflon flexible hoses is further generally made continuous throughout the length of Teflon hose segment. This confers onto the duct a strength and resilience prized by those in the commercial and industrial fields.
Some of the specific applications in which Teflon flexible hose is commonly used include chemical plants, pollution containment facilities, pharmaceutical factories, and recycling plants. All of these areas feature one thing in common: the need for constant ventilation of chemicals in order to remain operable. Thankfully, Teflon hose is the perfect remedy for this problem.

“Spiral-Lock (Teflon) 600”

What are the Properties of Teflon® Hose?

Teflon® ducts are used because they are resistant to harsh environments and corrosive fumes.

This includes ozone, chlorine, acetic acid, ammonia, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. The only chemicals known to affect these coatings are molten alkali metals and highly reactive fluorinating agents. Teflon ducts also offer outstanding performance at extreme temperatures. In fact they can withstand temperatures of up to +600℉,  and cryogenic temperatures of -60℉,   and still have the same physical properties. Our flexible Teflon® duct has a double-ply construction Teflon® fabric hose with a heat-resistant fiberglass liner mechanically crimped in a continuous process. This hose is made to order and is available in 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12-Inch diameters.

“Spiral-Lock (Teflon) 600”

Can Teflon® withstand High Temperatures?

With chemical inertness and temperature resistance ranging from -60°F  to + 600°F) Teflon™ fluoropolymers like polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) offer nearly unmatched versatility across applications. A varied scope of activities and production facilities particularly those requiring high-purity environment depend on the chemical and thermal resistance properties that Teflon® provides. One of the other unique features of Teflon® is that it is almost totally chemically inert and highly unreactive when faced with most solvents or chemicals. Combined with its temperature resistance, this makes a Teflon® duct and ideal tool for high purity applications that need to vent out fumes. Our Teflon® ducts are able to withstand sustained sub-freezing temperatures without any loss of physical properties. Teflon’s® ability to handle both high and low temperatures is unique and highly valued when the need arises! Clients will rarely use Teflon ducts without first asking the question what is the temperature rating of a Teflon® hose? This wide temperature resistance is one of the main factors in deciding to use this product. Note that  Teflon® ducts are made to order and are on the expensive end of the pricing continuum. Therefore the decision to use Teflon® ducts is solely based on their functionality is high purity and high temperature applications.

“Aluminum Connectors”

Why is Teflon special?

Teflon was by DuPont’s account “An Accidental Discovery.”  But the fact that “PTFE is inert to virtually all chemicals and considered the most slippery material in existence, making it one of the most valuable, versatile technologies invented. Many industries—aerospace, communications, electronics, industrial processes, and architecture—owe some of their significant advances to PTFE.”

Here are the top 12 reason why Teflon in considered special:

1. Exceptional chemical resistance
2. Good resistance to heat and low temperature
3. Flexibility, which makes it a perfect product to be used in flexible ducting
4. Low water absorption, which allows it to be used in outdoor or wet rooms
5. Good electrical insulation qualities in hot and wet conditions
6. A- PTFE molecule is electrically inert (or nonpolarity)
   B- As a result of its inertness, perhaps the most important reason for its use is its availability in food, medical and high-purity grades
7.  Strong anti-adhesion properties
8. Good resistance to light, UV and weathering
9. It has low coefficient of friction
10. Nonstick property over a wide temperature spectrum
11. Low dielectric constant/dissipation factor
12. PTFE does not dissolve in any known solvent

Why is PTFE so good? PTFE or Teflon’s® varied range of chemical and structural properties are so unique that some industries may not have every been possible without Teflon’s® introduction. The special properties of Teflon® stem from its chemical composition and structure: the bonds between the carbon and the fluorine atoms are very strong, implying that a large amount of energy is required to break and replace these bonds with new ones. Therein lies the chemical stability of this material and its indifference to other materials.

“J-Lock Connectors”

What is Teflon® made out of?

Teflon, also known scientifically by its chemical makeup as Polytetraflouoroethylene, is made up of Carbon and Fluorine atoms, categorizing it as Fluorocarbon.  The strength of these Carbon-Fluorine bonds is what lends Teflon its excellent chemical resistant and hydrophobic properties. (Hydrophobic materials are unable to be “wetted” by anything containing water.)

Fluoropolymers are a class of plastics offering a very valuable range of properties. The discovery of PTFE has allowed for the development of many modern technologies that otherwise would have been nonexistent. Today, in their most common household  use PTFE is used in non-stick frying pan surfaces. Yes, they are used to make your morning omelets!  It also finds use in high-tech, medical, and hospital uses such as implants, surgical implements, and testing apparatus.

What’s the difference between Teflon® and PTFE? There is no difference.  Teflon is the brand name that DuPont has given the products and PTFE, or Polytetraflouoroethylene, is the scientific name of it.   PTFE is called a homopolymer, a polymer made from a single monomer. Recently many PTFE manufacturers have added minute amounts of other monomers to their PTFE polymerizations to produce alternate grades of PTFE designed for specific applications.

“Spiral-Lock (Teflon) 600”

Why is PTFE so expensive? Why are Teflon hoses more expensive?

Though less affordable than other options, this material offers an outstanding resistance to a huge variety of chemicals. This trait doesn’t just make a Teflon flexible hose highly durable, it also makes it excellent for use in applications where the purity of the fumes passing through it must be maintained. Due to the material’s non-reactive molecular structure, a Teflon hose can be used for extremely precise fume transfer such as in pharmaceutical applications or even more corrosive situations like pollution control. The malleability of the material also allows for a number of available Teflon flexible hose sizes, which paired with its wide range of use within different temperatures, makes this a highly efficient, durable, and functional product. Whether it is used as fan duct, transit hose, or collection piping, Teflon hose excels at providing a safe and secure conduit for fumes, aerosols, and gasses of all types.

The chemicals that a Teflon hose is resistant to includes several caustic acids that would destroy almost any other hose quickly.  Teflon is so chemically non-reactive, it is used to store acids such as hydrofluoric acid and fluoroantimonic acid—a “superacid”, defined as an acid with an acidity that is greater than 100% of pure sulfuric acid. Of course, specific chemical resistance requirements should always be verified before choosing a Teflon flexible Hose to ensure compatibility. We offer a convenient chemical resistance chart that includes many commonly encountered chemicals, with specific ratings (A to D) so it is easy to pick out the appropriate hose for specific applications.  This form can easily be viewed as a PDF from the “Hose Downloads” link, found at the bottom of any webpage.

“Spiral-Lock (Teflon) 600”